Music. Does it affect your happiness? Well, our Productivity Ninjas are rather fond of grooving to some tunes, and they seem rather happy doing so. Many people would agree that listening to their favorite tracks helps them in some way or another. Whether that be keeping them entertained, alleviating a bad mood or helping them to focus on their work. Music is so readily available now that it can easily be adopted into the workplace. So, how does music both in the office and personally, affect our mood and productivity?
We have had a chat with the lovely folk at Total Jobs, who produced a report in collaboration with music psychologist Dr Anneli Haake and music streaming service, Deezer UK. The report used data from 4,500+ responses collected from their Sound of Productivity interactive tool, showing that music can, in fact, boost productivity. Our Productivity Ninjas feel this is important as productivity and happiness can be directly linked. So, putting on your favorite artist while working does not only lift your mood but also improve your productivity. Here are some ways in which listening to music can help you through the working day.
Improving Morale and Relieving Anxiety
Music is a great tool for improving your mood. When you’re having a bad day or whether you’re spending time with friends, music can be the addition to uplift your spirits. It was found that 59% of people said they listen to music to simply feel better. There are many reasons why someone may need to feel better, yet a common symptom in the workplace, is anxiety. Those who suffer from anxiety know that there are several counteractive methods which can help. From taking medication over exercising to relaxing through meditation. However, one of the simplest methods of anxiety relief is listening to music. It allows you to focus on something other than the issue at hand and with its moral boosting properties, you should be feeling more relaxed in no time.
Easing Boredom and Inspiring Creativity
It’s not a secret that being bored at work, while common, isn’t the best influence for our productivity. Although, it can be difficult to avoid sometimes. Perhaps sitting in on that 2-hour meeting or being the only one in the office after hours, music can play a great part in alleviating boredom. By putting some tracks on in the background, you find yourself interested in something other than that mountain of paperwork in front of you.
Music is known to improve one’s creativity. Listening to different genres of music for example, may help you to start thinking in an abstract manner. Allowing you to find different ways of approaching the issue at hand. Try and find music which suits the type of task you are tackling, for example, if you have a lot of reading to do, instrumental music will aid you as there are no lyrics to cause interruption.
Music in the workplace
Even the most efficient work environment can suffer from distractions. The type and reason for distractions can vary, but what’s important is the instances you can control. The report found that 26% of people have no control over the music in their work environment, with 38% not being allowed to listen to music at all. However, the research showed that 99% of people working in open-plan spaces would benefit from listening to music at work. That may be because music gives employees something to focus on, letting those distractions fade away. It also means that the office doesn’t suffer in silence, which can negatively affect the morale of the team and obviously feel a bit awkward too.
Although it has shown that music would aid those in open-plan offices, what about those in more personal environments? 42% of people in private offices said that music being played openly is a distraction from work. So, if listening to music individually, be sure to keep headphones on. Yet, letting people know that they can still interact with you is important. The key being to decide what is appropriate for you, your team and your office type.
Get listening
With work being a busy and sometimes stressful environment, the little things can often get overlooked. Business owners and managers focus their efforts on producing the highest quality products or service for their customers. Sometimes, they lose sight of the importance of creating a great work environment too.
Music has shown to be an excellent tool for improving morale, productivity and creating an overall more hospitable environment. Something which helps everybody get through the daily tasks. 79% of people would benefit from listening to music at work, regardless of their age, occupation, location and personal taste. Despite this, on average 20% of people cannot listen to music at work, yet feel they would benefit from doing so.
With music now being so readily available, why not try to introduce it into the office and see what effect it has? Explaining the benefits of music and the productivity levels could encourage senior level to open the floor to a friendlier and enjoyable work environment. Just be sure to share your company playlist with us once you have.
To discuss more about how you can make your work environment happier and more productive, why not check out our facilitation training.
If you think music helps you work, we would love to hear about it. Let us know in the comment box below or tweet us @thinkproductive
By Miles Singleton